Peerless
by Silent Scribe
Summary: There are many definitions of the word, here are Sesshomaru's and Rin's. A Father's Day set.
1. Chapter 1

****

Like No One Else

His easy breathing didn't betray his racing heart. Risking a glance over a fur-clad shoulder, he immediately regretted it – pegged with a venom smile, Sesshomaru pulled a grimace. This whelp was going to follow him, eh? Fine, let her. She lacked the stamina to keep pace, she could be ditched in the next human village. The Western Lord didn't need some urchin trotting after him.

The girl, of course, had no idea of what whirred in the dog-demon's mind. After all, he'd just looked back at her to make sure she was still there, right? If anything, he had tenfold the kindness of the village elders!

The following sun, her conclusions were vindicated. A colorful yukata, the kind only permitted to girls of the gentry, was tossed her way.

For the first time in she didn't know how many seasons, she wanted express gratitude with more than a bow. A little voice long tucked away, stretched timidly at first.

Sesshomaru's eyebrows rose slightly. He assumed Tenseiga healed all imperfections, but when the girl stayed silent after revival he figured otherwise. Now she spoke?

He squared his jaw. "What, child?"

"Rin," she insisted with sudden vigor, "wants to thank you, Lord Sesshomaru."

The dog-demon froze in his tracks. Such a fascinating development. Was it fleeting? "For what do you extend gratitude?" he prodded.

"For the new clothes!" She triumphantly displayed the yukata. "They're pretty."

More words. Progress, he decided. "Accepted," Sesshomaru droned. "Now clean up."

"Yes, m'lord!"

No, it was no act of charity by any means, the daiyokai attempted to reason. He just didn't care to be surrounded by waifs and strays. No one would see the day Sesshomaru didn't mind what was his.

Upon return, Rin noticed how staunchly the nobleman stood. He hadn't moved an inch since she'd left. In childish eyes, he'd been waiting just for her. Really, he was like no one else.


	2. Chapter 2

****

Without Rival

The sunlight glinted off his armor, his silver mane blazed white hot, and twin blades gleamed at his side -- the dog-demon was the quintessence of splendor.

"You needn't stand in the threshold, son." Inu no Taisho didn't bother turning around.

Sesshomaru stood put. "You're off to battle again." It wasn't a question.

"I'll be back." Now the Dog General whirled to face his child, flashing a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"How do you know?"

A clawed hand was waved dismissively. "After so many years you can expect the same routine."

Sesshomaru's brow furrowed, a tiny talon pensively tapped his chin. "Does that come with being a leader?"

"Hmm?" The great dog cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Does knowing you'll get what you want come with being strong?" he clarified.

"Sesshomaru," the daiyokai crooned, sitting down beside his heir, his son. "There is more to being a leader than giving orders and having others obey."

"I know." Sesshomaru nodded, eyes set and certain. "Sometimes you have to enforce your decisions with a little bite." His teeth clicked in the air for emphasis.

"No, you don't need that either. Certainly not all the time."

"So then how do you know no one else is better? How do you know you're without rival?"

Inu no Taisho blinked back into large amber eyes, studied the two parrallel sets of stripes, the little crescent moon, the defiant upturned lip. He smiled. "Sometimes," he grumbled in a voice like lazy thunder, "you don't need a body count to measure how much you mean to someone. I know I'll be coming back because you know I'm without rival."

He resumed his full imposing height, but stroked the boy's head one last time in gentle farewell.

Sesshomaru etched the memory of his father's depature into his young mind. How the great canine bounded into the sky, sinuous and self-respecting over the twilit clouds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Peerless**

Sesshomaru squinted his eyes at the blinding late spring sun. Such a nuisance.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lookit what I found!"

And here came another.

Rin waved a bouqet of flowers under the demon's sensitive nose, it took every ounce of reserve not to sneeze.

"Aren't they beautiful?" The little girl spun on tiptoe, hugging them to her chest before whipping out her hand again to exclaim, "And they're all for you!" A toothy grin bloomed across her face.

Sesshomaru returned with a phlegmatic stare. Several lunar cycles had passed since he last revived this child with no shortage of heartstopping perils, vicious foes, and tortuous twists. Yet Rin still insisted on following him. Why? It was like he was the audience he played to day after day. She made him feel like real royalty. Like the king he viewed his father as. She was always enriching, not unlike the blossoms she held before him.

"Don't you like them?" The dejected squeak broke Sesshomaru out of his reveries.

"I think," Sesshomaru said deliberately, "that these would be better with someone else."

Slowly, he pulled the brightest flower out by its stem and afixed it beside Rin's ponytail.

She giggled and an odd shadow played across Sesshomaru's mouth. Rin called it a smile.

"How do you always know what to do?" she asked.

Sesshomaru tipped his head skyward. "Well, I learned from the best."

--

A/N: _Thank you for reading I hope you enjoy this set. It you like this there is also "Can't I Come With You?" and "Fangs of My Father." Happy Father's Day! Especially to you, Dad!_


End file.
